Unexpected Nakama
by Mokona-Midoki
Summary: COMPLETE! Oneshot. The Pirate King, a young marine, and six days to do nothing but tell stories and wait for the execution. COMPLETE!


Unexpected Nakama

By: Mokona-Midoki

_Disclaimer: Ah, no. So sorry, but One Piece is not mine! The only thing that belongs to me in the story is Dann. He's original._

_Just a note, this takes place ten years after One Piece originally begins, so Luffy is 27._

The young marine lifted the small flap on the side of the cell, and pushed the plate of food inside. Before he had even closed it, the man inside the cell snatched it up, and began to hungrily wolf down the food.

"Man! You guys aren't that bad at cooking!" He said in between bites. "But you never give me enough!"

"Well, uh, Sir, you are in prison." The boy, barely seventeen, reminded him.

The prisoner considered this piece of information for a moment, then laughed loudly. "Ha! I am aren't I! Hahaha!"

He shoved the plate back through the flap. "Here. Next time tell the cook to give me more, otherwise, I won't be around for the execution!"

He picked up the plate, and stared in through the bars, utterly fascinated by the man within. He knew he wasn't supposed to talk to him. He knew that he was just to stand guard over him, but he couldn't help but voice the next question. "But, aren't you scared?" He asked.

The man gave him a blank stare, and pushed his hat higher on to his head. "Scared of what?"

"If you go to the execution platform, you'll die!"

He laughed again. "Oh that! Everyone dies eventually."

"And it doesn't scare you at all?"

He grinned. "Nah! I'm pretty pumped for it, actually! After all, they say that death is the next great adventure, right?" He paused. "Or was it something else…"

"Um, no. You got it right."

The man studied the marine in front of him, looking him up and down. "You know, you sound just like Conis."

"Uh, just like who?"

"Ah, this girl I met once. She asked me the exact same thing! She lived on Sky Island, you know."

The marine felt his breath catch in his throat. "Sky Island? It's true then? You really went to an island in the sky? That's not just some rumor?"

The prisoner grinned. "Yeah! We really did!"

"What was it like?"

"There were clouds everywhere! Some were like water, and some were hard enough to walk on! They even built roads and buildings out of them!"

"Really?!" As hard as he tried, he couldn't keep the excitement out of his voice.

"Really! And everybody there had wings! I don't think they could fly, but still! It was cool! They were just regular size though. Not like the giants we met."

"You met giants?!"

"Yeah! Two! They live on this island with dinosaurs and seakings, and giant goldfish! They were at least a hundred times bigger than us! Their names were…Dorry and Broggy! They had been on that island dueling for a hundred years!"

"A hundred years?"

"Uh-huh! It was amazing! Oh, and later we visited their village, Elbaf! We saw a lot more giants there!" He paused, considering the young marine in front of him. "You know, for a marine, you're pretty nice."

The marine laughed a bit, and rubbed the back of his head. "You think so?"

"Yeah! Most of you guys just stand here and say nothing! And when I try and talk to them, they just growl at me!"

"Oh. Well, that's what I should be doing, but…"

"But what?" The prisoner prompted.

The young man was silent, and then looked up, his eyes shining. "But I've always wanted to meet you!"

The prisoner cocked his head to one side. "Ara? Me? Why did you want to meet me?"

"Because you're amazing!" He looked down. "And, and because you gave me the courage to follow my dreams."

"I did?"

"Do you, do you remember that time when you were in Loguetown, ten years ago?" The marine asked.

He thought about it for a minute. "You mean when Buggy almost chopped off my head? And I had to escape from Smokey?"

The marine blanched at the nickname given to his superior officer, but continued on. "Yes."

"Yeah I remember that! Kinda hard to forget!"

"Well…I, I was there! I was there in the crowd!"

"You were?"

He nodded. "I was only seven, but I remember it clearly. When you yelled out your dream, it was amazing! It, it made me think, if he can be there, and still believe, then maybe I can too!"

"Oh? And have you seen your dream through?"

"No. Not yet. I'm on my way though!"

He grinned again. "I like you! What's your name?"

"Uh, I'm Dann."

He laughed. "I guess you know who I am!"

Dann nodded. "Monkey D. Luffy: Pirate King."

Luffy laughed. "So! Now that I know who you are, could you get me some more food?"

--

It had been four days since Dann had met the Pirate King, and he couldn't get over it. To Dann, who had been on the bottom of the totem pole until recently, Luffy was absolutely fascinating.

He told the young guard all sorts of stories. From the time he defeated the merman Arlong, to the time he had fought CP9, the strongest of the strong, all in order to save his nakama. He told him all these, and more. In return, Dann snuck food from the kitchens in order to feed the seemingly bottomless pit of a stomach that Luffy had.

Four days past.

The execution of the infamous Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy should have been held exactly two days after that.

Marine headquarters had decided in order to make sure nobody came to his rescue that it would be held in one.

--

"Hey Dann!" Luffy called from inside his cell. A wide smile split his lips. "You're early!"

Dann gave him a wane smile. It looked more painful than anything else. "Hello Luffy." After much cajoling the Pirate King had convinced the young marine to call him by his name.

Luffy frowned slightly. Leaning forward slightly, he put his face as close as he could to the bars of the cage without actually touching the kairouseki they were made of. "Are you alright Dann?"

Dann looked down. "Not exactly…"

"Has something happened?" He grinned. "Did Smokey run out of cigars or something?"

"Ah, no. Nothing like that."

"Then what's wrong?"

"Luffy…the execution…they moved it up."

"Eh? What about my execution?"

"It was supposed to be the day after tomorrow." He looked up, his face sad, and nervous. "But they changed it to tomorrow."

Luffy looked at him blankly. "Why?"

"They heard a rumor that some of your nakama were going to try and save you! So they changed the date."

"Oh. Is that all?"

Dann stared at him with wide eyes. "Is that all? Luffy, your last chance of escape just got thrown out the window!"

Luffy shrugged. "Maybe." He raised his eyebrows. "You make it sound like you don't want me to be executed."

Dann's face turned down. "I don't. Luffy, you may be a pirate, but you're not a bad pirate. You help people. You…you give people hope when they have none." He finished knowing how cheesy it sounded.

"Really? You think?"

"Yeah. I do. That's why I got this." He held up a key.

Luffy's eyes grew wide. "That's…"

"The key to the cell." Dann finished.

"Dann, put it back! You'll get into major trouble, you'll be thrown out of the marines, maybe killed!"

Dann's mouth frowned, and his eyes were set. "No."

"Dann! Listen to me! You don't know what you're getting yourself into!"

"The minimum sentence for helping a convict of your caliber escape is life in prison. Maximum, execution in the criminal's place. Of course, this is only after they torture you to get the escapee's location out of you. Believe me, I know what I'm getting myself into."

"Good! Now get yourself out of it!"

"No." He waved his hand cutting off what the shocked Pirate King was about to say. "You listen to me! I can't let you die! You've told me so many amazing things, even though I'm a marine, and your enemy. You're better than a lot of the marines out there! Luffy! You're the Pirate King! And I'm not letting you out of this cell as a marine. I'm letting you out as…as a friend!"

For one of the few times in his life, Luffy had nothing to say.

"Once I let you out, go up the back stairs. There's a small office at the top. You can use the den den mushi inside to contact your nakama. After that, you can escape out the window. Stick close to the building. The south wall has the least amount of security. Get out through there." He inserted the key into the lock, opened the door, and stood back.

Luffy came out and stood in front of the marine, studying him with serious dark eyes. "Come with me." He offered.

"What?"

"Come with me. Not as a marine, but as a friend. You can sail with us!"

Dann smiled, but shook his head. "No. I can't. It makes me really happy that you would let me, but…my dreams lie here. For better or for worse, no matter what happens, this is where I want to be. It's my dream, so I don't mind dying for it."

Luffy was silent. Then he reached out and grasped Dann's shoulders. Looking him straight in the eye he spoke. "Dann. No matter what happens. No matter what anyone else says. We are nakama." He gave him an impish grin. "And that's why I've got to do this." And so saying, he punched the marine in the pit of the stomach, effectively knocking him out. Laying him on the floor, he found the plate and hit Dann over the head with it, and then he took the key and left the cell at a run.

--

Dann woke up in the infirmary. He had no idea how he'd gotten there. But his head hurt like hell. Looking over, he saw his commanding officer standing over him, cigars smoking.

His mouth suddenly felt very dry. "S-sir!" He managed to squeak out.

"I see you're awake." His voice rumbled.

"Ye-yes."

"So maybe now, you'd like to tell me how Straw Hat escaped."

"We-well I was checking on the prisoner, I heard a noise and turned around when he uh, reached through the flap for plates and grabbed my foot and tripped me. I hit my head." He told him. Dann knew his story had more holes than Swiss cheese, but it was all he had.

"And that's what happened?"

"That's what happened." Dann tried to keep his face emotionless.

Smoker leaned closer to him. "You know if you're lying that you could be killed."

Dann swallowed. "I know."

His officer was silent for a long moment, then straightened back up. "Since you were attacked, I'll see what I can do in order to lessen your punishment. You'll probably be on probation for a long time."

"I would imagine so."

"Very well. Don't let this happen again."

Dann saluted. "Yes Sir!"

Smoker took a long breath, then blew out a cloud of smoke. "Go back to bed. You've got a nasty bump."

As he left, he was confronted by Tashigi. "You think he was lying?" She asked him.

He shrugged. "Who knows?"

"You sound a bit happy that Straw Hat got away." She eyed him suspiciously.

"I'm not." He paused. "I will admit that it would've gotten a lot more boring without him to chase around though." He glanced over at her. "Besides, you haven't beaten Roronoa Zoro yet, so I can't imagine that you're not entirely disappointed."

"Believe what you want."

He turned. "Let's go Tashigi. We've got a Pirate King to capture…again."

"Yes Sir!"

--

Out on the wide blue sea, Monkey D. Luffy, Pirate King, sat on his ship, letting the breeze blow through his hair. He had been silent for a long while now. Something that never boded well for his crew.

Zoro came up behind him. "Luffy."

Luffy turned. "Yeah?"

"What's up? You've been quiet all day."

Luffy turned back. "Ah, nothing. Just thinking."

Zoro raised an eyebrow. Luffy? Thinking? He looked up to make sure the sky wasn't about to start raining flaming rocks, but it was the same clear blue as it had always been, so maybe the apocalypse wasn't coming after all… "About what?"

"The kid who helped me escape."

This was something new. "I thought you got out on your own."

"There was a kid who helped me out. He was a marine. Can't be older than seventeen."

"You worried about him?"

Luffy grinned. "Nah. He's strong! He'll make it! And we'll see each other again."

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah! After all! We're nakama!"

Zoro let a small smile creep across his face. "Nakama, huh?"

THE END

_Footnotes: This was a random idea that entered my mind when I was watching the Skypiea arc again. I like the opening part the best…Anyway, I think it turned out okay._

_As far as Smoker and Tashigi go, this is ten years later, so I think Smoker would have loosened up around Tashigi a bit._

_Just in case you didn't get it, Luffy hit Dann on the head to make it look like he had hit his head falling down._

_PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!_


End file.
